Case Studies Updated

• Changing population: natural increase and population structures

  • Youthful
  • Aging
• Advantages of youthful population

  • Economic growth
  • Increased consumer spending
  • Greater social cohesion
• Disadvantages of youthful population

  • Economic burden
  • Reduced workforce
  • Increased social isolation
  • Increased burden on education system
  • Youth unemployment
  • Increased crime rates
• Advantages of ageing population


  • Experience and knowledge to give to society
  • Reduced crime rate
  • Increased demand for senior services which can create job opportunities
• Disadvantages of an ageing population

  • Economic burden
  • Reduced workforce
  • Increased social isolation
• Causes of population decline

  • Low birth rates
  • Natural disasters and other environmental factors
  • Migration
  • Ageing population
• Anti Natal Policy


  A policy that aims to limit population growth
• China's one child policy

  • Couples must not marry until their late 20's
  • Must have only one successful pregnancy
  • Must be sterilized after the first child/ or about any future pregnancies
  • They would receive a 5-10% salary rise for limiting their family to one child
  • The disadvantages of having more than one child: a 10% salary cut, a large fine that could potentially bankrupt most households, the family would have to pay for both children's healthcare and education, second child is not penalized but they do not receive Chinese citizenship
• Disadvantages of China's one child policy

  • Forced abortions for women (even as late as 9 months)
  • The "granny police" were implemented, they are older women trusted with keeping a regular check on couples
  • The Chinese society had a preference for sons over daughters which resulted in girls being placed in orphanages
  • Gender imbalance: there are around 30 million more young men than women
• Positive impacts of pro-natal policy in France

  • Maintained a steady supply of workers for the French economy
  • Helped to mitigate some of the challenges of an aging population
  • Encouraged women to have children
  • Reduced child poverty
• Negative impacts of pro-natal policy in France

  • Did not address the underlying structural factors that contribute to low birth rates
  • Prioritized population growth over other important societal goals
  • Focused too heavily on encouraging women to have children and did not do enough to address gender inequality
• Migration (Rural to urban - Megacity) (Jakarta)

  • Jakarta has a population of approximately 23 million people
  • More job opportunities
  • Increased communication
  • Higher expenses for everyday use products
  • Jakarta becoming a megacity caused a lot of pollution to occur from vehicle emissions and forest fires
  • 31% of Jakarta's air pollution comes from the fires
  • 63% of Indonesian people are expats in Jakarta
  • The GDP of Indonesia 3.1 Trillion
• Urban Renewal


  The redevelopment of areas within a large city, typically involving the clearance of slums
• Urban Decline


  A process that includes population loss and the concentration in cities of major social, economic, and environmental problems
• Reasons for urban regeneration in the UK

  • 80% of the UK population live in urban areas (towns or cities)
  • Since the late 1960's manufacturing industry in the UK has significantly declined (deindustrialisation)
  • Deindustrialisation has left many inner cities facing severe socio-economic and environmental problems
• 2012 Olympics urban regeneration in London


  • The site for the 2012 Olympic Park was Stratford in the Lower Lea Valley of East London, situated north of the London Docklands
  • The River Lea, a tributary of the River Thames, flows through the Olympic Park
  • Lower Lea Valley was an area of urban deprivation before the 2012 Olympics with derelict industrial & brownfield sites, poor quality housing, high unemployment rates and other social problems like high crime rates
  • Land and waterways were badly contaminated with chemicals
  • Lower Lea Valley was once an important agricultural community known for potato growing
• Environmental impacts of the 2012 Olympics urban regeneration

  • The Olympic Site was built largely on 560 acres of brownfield land
  • The quality of water in River Lea had improved
  • Produced 3.3 million tons of CO2
  • Much wildlife had to be relocated; 4,000 smooth newts, 100 toads and 300 common lizards as well as fish including pikes and eels were moved by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA)
• Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, China


  • Built in 1994 and opened in 2003 (took 17 years to build)
  • Capable of storing water, controlling flooding, and generating hydroelectric energy
  • Enabled a sense of protection for its residents
  • Manufacturing has saved lives in the densely populated area like Jingjiang and Dongting Lake plains, most prone to devastating floods
• Social impacts of the Three Gorges Dam

  • Triggered the flooding of 13 cities, 140 towns and 1350 villages, people forced to evacuate before construction - 1.2 million displaced
  • Government displaced only small plots of land and compensation of $7 a month (Government choose profit over people)
  • Submerging of historical sites & local animal habitats lost
• Economic impacts of the Three Gorges Dam

  • $26 billion in total
  • Improved waterways for shipping (enhancing trade)
  • 3.6% of China's total electricity
• Around 145,000 people were killed in 1931 based on the effects of the river floods
• Three Gorges Dam


  • Capable of storing water, controlling flooding, and generating hydroelectric energy
  • Made China independently powered
• The Three Gorges Dam's manufacturing has saved lives in the densely populated area like Jingjiang and Dongting Lake plains, most prone to devastating floods
• Environmental impacts of Three Gorges Dam

  • Cuts coal usage up to 31 million tons per year
  • Saves more than 100 million tons of CO2 per year
  • Reduces toxic pollutants in the river, reducing pollution
  • Reduces pollution without compromising on energy output
  • Increased waterways contaminates river (decreased water purity -> waterborne viruses)
• Urbanization


  Migration of people from rural to urban areas for economic and social opportunities
• Floods occur when an overflow of water submerges land that is usually dry
• Impacts of flooding


  • Damage to buildings, roads, bridges, and other infrastructure
  • Displacement of people and animals
  • Loss of crops and livestock
  • Contamination of water sources
  • Increase in the spread of water-borne diseases
  • Loss of life
• Impacts of TNCs (Nike) on LICs

  • Advantages: Job creation, Economic development, Technology transfer
  • Disadvantages: Pollution, Poor working conditions, Exploitation
• Linear Economy


  The traditional model where raw materials are collected and transformed into products that consumers use until discarding them as waste
• Across the globe, only 8.6% of the economy is circular
• 1. 6 billion hectares of the world's forest biomes have been burnt down by human impacts (deforestation, resource, land reservation)
• Over 1.6 billion people rely on the forest for food, fuel, resources, jobs, shelter
• 80% of the world's land species live within forests
• Problems in the aquatic biome

  • Rise in ocean temperature
  • Increase acidity and less oxygen
  • Increase in sea level rise
  • Destruction of coral reefs
• Causes of problems in the aquatic biome

  • Overexploitation (overfishing/overharvesting)
  • Pollution
  • Sedimentation
  • Overcrowding
  • Boats and marine debris
• Climate change affects skew sex ratios and threatens population survival
• The Japanese Tsunami in 2011 had a death count of 20,000, while the Indian Tsunami in 2004 had a death count of 200,000
• The Japanese Tsunami in 2011 caused $210 billion USD in damage